Dewhurst on Cruz: ‘He ain’t met a fighter before like me’

The band played Can’t Buy Me Love and the lobby was well-represented at Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst’s campaign event at Scholz Garten on Wednesday evening.

Dewhurst mingled and gave an upbeat speech, thanking the crowd for coming (“It’s amazing what beer will do”) and touting his record and his desire to send President Obama back to Chicago.

He turned on the tough talk when reporters asked him about hard-charging opponent Ted Cruz, a favorite of national tea party and intellectual conservative groups who portrays himself as a conservative warrior.

After citing big money that he said “Washington insider” groups have spent against him, Dewhurst said, “One thing that Mr. Cruz is sadly mistaken on – he ain’t met a fighter before like me.

“And I’m not going to let anyone run negative ads on me that are not true without making sure the voters understand who he is, just like I’m trying to explain to the voters who I am – remind them who I am,” Dewhurst said, “what I’ve done for them in creating the strongest economy in the country – that I’ve created along with our legislative leaders … fastest-growing state population-wise, fastest-growing state as far as job creation.”

Dewhurst also was asked about the money he’s put into his campaign.

Federal reports show that Dewhurst, who’d previously put a net $8 million into his campaign, added $1.2 million more on the first day of early voting. His personal fortune is allowing him to eclipse spending by other candidates including Cruz, who had earlier put $70,000 into his campaign and late last week added $400,000 more.

Candidates can put unlimited personal money into their own campaigns, although federal rules restrict the amount of outside contributions.